Notation issue

[Raymond62]

Studying a score and copying a part, I've met a notation symbol I dont recognize. After a series of legato (slurred) notes and/or at the beginning of a series of slurred notes, the first/last note has a apostrophe-like symbol above, not bent but straight. It is not a staccato sign, I am sure. What is it?

It looks like '

Raymond

[danpowers]

It's hard to say without actually seeing it, but I suspect it may be a caesura of some sort. Most likely just a breath mark. It could also be a pause, but you normally see 2 parallel diagonal lines for that.

[reberclark]

Usually a comma is a "breath" mark, but in non-winds it is a short separation between notes - not staccato but separated.

A cesura (or caesura) is notated as two "railroad tracks": //

I would conclude if it looks like an apostrophe or a comma that it is a breath mark.

[Jeff Turner]

Usually the luftpause (apostrosphe) is placed after a note, not directly above it.

You said the symbol you see is straight. Does it look like a wedge? The wedge is "staccatissimo", meaning shorter than staccato.

JT

[klassical]

Jeff may be right.

Does it look like the 2nd notation example (4th measure) here?

http://www.dolmetsch.com/musictheory21.htm#slurstaccato

- k

[klassical]

Raymond -

Aren't you going to tell us if that is the symbol you were talking about?

- k

[Raymond62]

Yes, here is the link to that part of the score. See measure 44,45

http://www.box.net/shared/07bqqnrjt0


the symbol on the note above the "f" [that little apostroph-like] and so on..... flute part (viola part, vc part at the end of the score).

BTW, this is a page from the original score, scanned and pdf-ed.

Raymond

[qccowboy]

I would say a poor choice of fonts but meant to be staccatissimo articulation.

http://www.dosblanc.ca/music/examples/stacat.jpg

[danpowers]

Definitely staccatissimo.

[Raymond62]

I thought so, having listened to the real CD recording, but this recording is an old one and I wanted to be sure what Schubert meant, though it is not quite clear from that recording. Thanks guys,

Raymond